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. Nirnn STATES EDlVARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORANGE, NElV JERSEY, ASSIGNORTO E. J. BROOKS 85 00., OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

SEAL.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 304,258, dated August26, 1884.

Application filed July 18, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BRooKs, a citizen of the United States,residing at East Orange, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Seals, of which the following is aSpecification.

This invention relates to improvements in self-fastening seals, as Ihave termed them, adapted to be applied to ordinary car-door staples andthe like, and to be fastened with-. out the aid of seal presses orpunches.

The present invention consists in improved seals of this generaldescription, each composed of a suitable shackle, a hard and brittleseal part, preferably of transparent glass, having a suitable cavity, atapering entrance thereto, and abrupt internal shoulders at the innerend of said entrance, and an elastic securer, preferably of cork andsimilar to a bottlestopper, attached to one or both ends of the shackle,said securer being adapted to be inserted through said entrance at thesealing operation and to expand itself within said cavity, which it mayfill or nearly fill, behind said shoulders, so as to prevent itswithdrawal without such injury to the parts as would insure detection.from those heretofore invented by myself and all otherself-fasteningseals, so far as I am aware, in that the present seals arewholly without metallic snap-catches.

This invention consists, further, in the combination, in aself-fastening seal, of a flexible metallic shackle, a hard and brittleseal part of glass molded fast upon one end of said shackle, and havinga suitable cavity, a contracted entrance thereto, and abrupt internalshoulders at the inner end of said entrance, and an elastic securer ofcork or the like attached to the other extremity of said shackle andadapted for insertion at the sealing operation, as aforesaid. I thusprovide for permanently uniting all the parts of each seal in thefactory, so as to facilitate carrying and applying the seals,notwithstanding the diverse materials of which the several parts arecomposed.

A sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 of these drawings represent a preferred form of myimproved self- These seals differ essentially fastening seal, and Figs.4 to 6, inclusive, and 7 to 9, inclusive, two modifications thereof,Figs, 1, 4, and 7 being partially sectionized elevations of the seals asthey leave the factory; Figs. 2, 5, and 8, end views of the same asshown in the views above; and Figs. 3, 6,

and 9. elevations of the fastened seals repre sented as applied tocar-door staples in an illustrative way.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

In each of its forms this improved seal is composed of a suitableshackle, A, or A, or A, a hard and brittle seal part, B, or B, or B,preferably of transparent glass, and an elastic securer, O, or C, or Cpreferably of cork, attached to one (at least) of the ends of theshackle before or at the sealing operation, and the seal partconstructed with a suitable cavity, a, and a tapering entrance, 6, toreceive said securer, representing, respectively, the greatest size ofthe latter when expanded and its greatest reduction in diameter bycompression, with abrupt internal shoulders, s, at the inner end of saidentrance, adapted to coact with the securer in its expanded state toprevent its withdrawal. The other end of the shackle being securelyheldin any way, it will be apparent that when the shackle is passed througha pair of car-door staples, S, or otherwise applied to an object that isto be sealed fast, and the securer is forced through said entrance andexpands in said cavity behind said shoulders, the seal will be securelyselffastened.

In the preferred form represented by Figs. 1, 2, and 3 a flexiblemetallic shackle, A, is employed. Sheet metal-such as tin (tin plate)-isrepresented; but flat wire A, round wire At, or other wire, single or oftwo or more strands, may be used. One end of this metallic shackle isconnected, as aforesaid, with a tapering elastic securer, O, of cork,similar to a bottle-stopper. In the example, the shackle, being of sheetmetal, is passed lengthwise through the securer from its larger end, andis made, fast by slitting its extremity and bending its parts at rightangles in opposite directions. They may be rebent and forced back intothe cork for greater security, 100

or the securer may be attached in any approved way. This is done at thefactory, the other end of the metallic shackle having been first moldedfast within the closed end of a seal part, B, of glass, as represented,in the process of making the latter, which may be similar to that bywhich molded glass bottles are made. Thus constructed, the improved sealmay be handled as a single part; and it is only necessary to pass thesecurer through the staples S or their equivalent and insert it torender the seal securely self-fastened, as represented by Fig. 3.

In the modification represented by Figs. at, 5, and 6 a flexibleshackle, A, which may be of fiat wire, as represented, or of anyapproved description, including cord or twine, is connected at one endwith an elastic securer, O, as aforesaid, and the shackle being of flatwire and the securer of tapering form, as represented, the shackle endis passed lengthwise through the securer from its larger end, and bentand rebcnt at its extremity to preclude its withdrawal, the other end ofthe shackle being provided (in like manner or in any ap proved way) witha terminal stop, t, which precludes its withdrawal past the internalshoulders, s, of a corresponding seal part, B, constructed as aforesaid,after the securer is inserted outside thereof, as represented in Fig. 6.In this form, it will be understood, after the shackle is passed throughthe staples S or their equivalent, its end bearing said stop 1. is firstinserted through the entrance 6 into the seal-cavity 0, followed by thesecurer attached to the other end of the shackle, and when the securerpasses said shoulders s the seal is securely seli' lhstened.

In the modification represented by Figs. 7 S, and 9 the shackle A ispreferably, but not necessarily, of flexible wire, provided at itsextremities with my detector-indentations d, and is combined with abottle-shaped glass seal part, B, detached therefrom until the sealingoperation, as in the form last described, and an elastic securer, Owhich may also remain detached until the sealing operation, as shown infull lines in Fig. 7, or be prelimina rily attached to one end of theshackle, as represented by dotted. lines in Fig. 7, said securer havingalongitudinal hole, 71, Fig. 8, adapted to receive both shackle ends, toprovide for attaching it to both ends after the shackle is passedthrough the staples S or their equivalent, aftcrwhich the securer isinserted into the seal part, to render the seal self-fastened and toprevent access to the fastenings of the shackle ends, as shown in Fig.9.

Making the internal shoulders, s, of the seal part re-entrant andcorrespondingly shaping the outer end of the securer for additionalsecurity against the withdrawal of the latter is represented in Figs. 7,8, and 9, and also coloring the exterior of the securer so that it maybe more readily inspected through a seal part of transparent glass.These and like features, it will be obvious, may be embodied in eitherform of the seal; and the seal parts and shackles may furthermore beprovided, in course of manufacture, with lettering or otherdistinguishing marks, including peculiar shapes, colors, andproportions, to render counterfeiting diflicult or impossible, and toprovide for readily indicating the roads or users to which particularseals belong.

Having thus described my said improve ment in seals, I claim as myinvention and desire to patent under this specification- 1. An improvedsel f-fastenin g seal composed of a suitable shackle, a hard and brittleseal part having a suitable cavity, a tapering entrance thereto, andinternal shoulders at the inner end of said entrance, and an elasticsecurer of cork or like material attached to one or both of the ends ofsaid shackle, and adapted to be forced through said entrance into saidcavity at the sealing operation, and to expand itself behind saidshoulders to prevent withdrawal, substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination, in a self-fastening seal, of a flexible metallicshackle, a hard and brittle seal part of glass, molded fast on one endof said shackle, and having a suitable cavity, a tapering entranceleading thereto, and abrupt shoulders at the inner end of said en- 7trance, and an elastic securer of cork or like material attached to theother end of said shackle, and adapted to be forced through saidentrance into the cavity of said seal part at the sealing operation,substantially as here- 100 \Vitn esses:

Tirno. S. Go'rrrrnn, HENRY L. O. XVENK.

